A heatsink is a piece of metal that sits on top of a computer chip such as a CPU and draws power away from components by letting it rise through a set of fins. By themselves, heatsinks are passive; they have no moving parts. However, in most cases--especially with desktop CPUs and GPUs--the heatsink is combined with a fan that blows the hot air away or a liquid cooling solution that carries the heat away through pipes.
A heatsink needs to make strong contact with the source of heat in order to maximize cooling. Heatsinks leverage a thermal conductor to move the heat into fins, which have larger surface areas and thus disperse the heat throughout the computer. Interestingly--and logically--a heatsink is a type of radiator.
This article is part of the Tom's Hardware Glossary.
Further reading:
- How to Buy the Right CPU Cooler
- Best CPU Coolers 2018: Air and Liquid
- Thermal Paste Round-up: 85 Products Tested
